Officer Aaron Steere reported he and his K-9 partner Viking were dispatched to Brownlee Boulevard around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 12 after a night worker called to report that there was a man looking into vehicles near an auto service center with the possible intent to steal from them. Several other officers had done a visual search with no results and Viking was being asked to follow a scent trail. Viking is certified by the North American Police Work Dog Association and was able to pick up a scent near a pickup truck and followed it down Lockhart Street to Post Road and along several businesses on Lockhart, around a van on Post Road, down an embankment and into a dirt parking lot behind 3070 Post Road, where the trail ended. A witness later told Steere that the suspect followed the same path that Viking had traced. It appeared the suspect entered a vehicle and drove away from the area.

TIRED ATTEMPT

Officer John Curley was dispatched to the Four Seasons South Apartments on Warwick Avenue around 9:35 p.m. on Sept 12. A woman who lived there said she came down to her car and found that all of the wheels on her 2004 Hyundai Tiburon had their lug nuts either removed completely or loosened. She said all but three of the lug nuts were found and she had to jack the car up to get the wheels back on properly. None of her neighbors reported seeing anything suspicious and none of their cars had been affected. No suspects.

MISSING TOOLS

On Sept. 3, the owner of Cesar’s Appliance on Post Road told police he came to work that day and found that a battery had been stolen from his box truck and an $800 boxed set of Craftsman tools was missing. The owner told police he believed it happened over the Labor Day weekend and there was no damage to the truck beyond the wires that were cut to remove the battery. No suspects or witnesses but surrounding businesses were asked to check their surveillance video for suspicious activity and call police if they saw any.

HARD KNOCKS

Officer Jacob Elderkin reported complaints about juveniles wringing doorbells on North Street around 7:40 p.m. on Sept. 8 and went there to investigate. He said he met with one man who told him he heard two loud bangs at his front door and found that the storm door on the front of the house had been kicked in. Elderkin said the whole center window of the door was smashed and the man told him he saw a car drive away from the scene but did not see who was in the car or get a plate number or what kind of car it was. The homeowner told Elderkin he wasn’t having any problems with anyone and that the neighborhood is usually very quiet. No suspects or other witnesses.

MISSING TRAILER

Officer Adam Arico reported a boat trailer gone missing from the Greenwich Bay Marina on Second Point Road on Sept. 5. The owner said it was a 2008 Karavan 21’ that was parked next to the maintenance area of the marina and that he believed it was taken on or around Sept. 3 because it was last seen on Sept. 2. He said the trailer cost $1,070. He also said the camera that usually covered the area was being repaired at the time. No suspects or witnesses.

MISSING BRAKES

A manager at the Ryder Truck Rental Company on Jefferson Boulevard told police a dumpster on the property had been overflowing with brake drums and four of them were on the ground beside it on Sept. 7. He said he came to work that morning and all of the drums were gone. He said the missing drums were worth around $3,000 as scrap. He told police the rear lot is gated and locked after business hours. No suspects or witnesses.

STOLEN VEHICLES

A West Warwick woman who works at the Kent Regency Nursing Home on Commonwealth Avenue told police her boyfriend dropped her Ford Explorer off earlier that night around 6 p.m. on Sept. 9 and she actually saw him drive off with his friend after her vehicle was left in its usual parking space. She said she went out to the parking lot around 11 p.m. and the SUV was gone. She said she called her boyfriend to see if he came back and got the vehicle for any reason and he told her he had not. She said he left the keys to the Explorer in the center console as planned. She also assured police that the vehicle was up to date and even a month ahead on payments so it was not repossessed. The 2002 Ford was entered as stolen and the report was forwarded to detectives.

A Warwick woman told police her son borrowed her car and drove it to the Backstreet Pub on West Shore Road around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 and then left with some friends to attend a bachelor party. He said he had his friends drive him directly home afterward and was surprised to find it was missing when he came back the next day. He said he spoke with the owner of the pub who told him it wasn’t towed. The owner told police he closed the pub around 1 a.m. and his was the only vehicle in the lot when he came out. No suspects or witnesses.

SHOPLIFTING

Officer Darren Parrillo was on his way to the Kohl’s store in the Rhode Island Mall around 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 for a shoplifting in progress when he encountered the suspect near Wendy’s and detained her until loss prevention personnel identified her as the woman who took 19 shirts and two handbags worth a total of $128.88 from the store. Kuiwana L. Prout, 35, of 415 Friendship St. in Providence was charged with shoplifting and held for the bail commissioner as a repeat offender.

Officer Patrick Smith reported arresting a Warwick woman accused of stealing $450 from the Sears store in the Rhode Island Mall on Sept. 8. Loss prevention agents said she took sheets, underwear and other merchandise and concealed them in a Sears shopping bag before leaving the store without paying for the goods. Bettyjean Lavigne, 57, of 307 Greenwich Ave. in Warwick was later released with a summons.

Crystal N. Jarbeau, 31, of 418 Friendship St. in Providence was charged with shoplifting $209.89 worth of cosmetics from the Target store in the Warwick Mall on Sept. 11. She was later released with a summons.

Officer Matthew Moretti reported he was dispatched to the Rhode Island Mall around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 for a shoplifting in progress. He said there was a man, with a neck tattoo who fit the description of the suspect, on Rossi Street wearing a red shirt and sweating profusely and he apprehended him with clothes stuck in his pockets and wearing layers of clothes on his person. He said the man was apologetic and said he was stupid but he had a drug problem which prompted him to steal. David G. Ness, 38, of 160 Broad St. in Providence was charged with felony shoplifting because of prior shoplifting charges.